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CIA chief Petraeus resigns over extramarital affair

By Michael D. ShearNew York Times

Posted:
11/09/2012 12:01:00 AM CST

Updated:
11/09/2012 10:43:00 PM CST

In this June 23, 2011, file photo, then-CIA Director-designate Gen. David Petraeus testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Petraeus has resigned because of an extramarital affair. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

WASHINGTON -- David Petraeus, the CIA director and one of America's most decorated four-star generals, resigned Friday, Nov. 9, after an FBI investigation uncovered evidence that he was carrying on an extramarital affair.

Petraeus, 60, issued a statement acknowledging the affair after President Barack Obama accepted his resignation and it was announced Friday by the CIA. The disclosure ended a triumphant re-election week for the president with an unfolding scandal.

Government officials said the FBI had investigated whether a computer used by Petraeus had been compromised. In the course of that inquiry, federal investigators discovered the relationship, officials said. It remained unclear Friday when the investigation began, how it evolved into an examination of Petraeus and whether it was continuing.

Senior members of Congress were alerted to Petraeus' impending resignation by intelligence officials about six hours before the CIA announced it. One congressional official who was briefed on the matter said that Petraeus had been encouraged "to get out in front of the issue" and resign, and that he agreed.

As for how the affair came to light, the congressional official said, "It was portrayed to us that the FBI was investigating something else and came upon him. My impression is that the FBI stumbled across this."

Administration and congressional officials identified the woman with whom he was having the affair as Paula Broadwell, the author of a biography of Petraeus.

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Her book, "All In: The Education of General David Petraeus," was published this year. Broadwell could not be reached for comment.

The FBI did not inform the Senate and House Intelligence Committees about the investigation until this week, according to congressional officials, who noted that by law the panels -- and especially their chairmen and ranking members -- are supposed to be told about significant developments in the intelligence arena. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the chairman of the committee, plans to pursue the question of why the committee was not told, one official said.

The revelation of a secret inquiry into the head of the nation's premier spy agency raised urgent questions about Petraeus' 14-month tenure at the CIA and the decision by Obama to elevate him last year to head the agency after leading the country's war effort in Afghanistan. White House officials said they did not know about the affair until this week, when Petraeus informed them.

"After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair," Petraeus said in his statement, expressing regret for his abrupt departure. "Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours. This afternoon, the president graciously accepted my resignation."

Petraeus' admission and resignation represent a remarkable fall from grace for one of the most prominent figures in America's modern military and intelligence community, a commander who helped lead the nation's wartime activities in the decade after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and was credited with turning around the failing war effort in Iraq.

At the CIA, Petraeus maintained a low profile, in contrast to the celebrity that surrounded him as a general. But since the attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans two months ago, critics had increasingly pressured him to give the agency's account of the chaotic night. Petraeus was scheduled to testify before a closed congressional hearing next week.

White House officials say they were informed Wednesday night that Petraeus was considering resigning because of an extramarital affair. Intelligence officials notified the president's national security staff. Obama was at the time on his way back to Washington from Chicago, where he had gone to receive election returns.

On Thursday morning, just before a staff meeting at the White House, Obama was told.

"He was surprised, and he was disappointed," one senior administration official said. "You don't expect to hear that the Thursday after you were re-elected."

The president closeted himself in the White House all day Thursday, getting back to his old routine after months on the campaign trail. That afternoon, Petraeus came in to see him and informed him that he strongly believed he had to resign.

Obama did not accept his resignation right away.

"He told him, 'I'll think about it overnight,' " the administration official said.

The president, officials said, did not want Petraeus to leave. But he ultimately decided that he would not lean heavily on him to stay. On Friday, he called Petraeus and accepted the resignation, "agreeing with Petraeus' judgment that he couldn't continue to lead the agency," a White House official said.

Shortly after the news broke, Obama released a statement praising Petraeus for his "extraordinary service" to the country and expressing support for him and his wife, Holly.

"By any measure, through his lifetime of service, David Petraeus has made our country safer and stronger," the president said. Without directly addressing the affair, Obama added: "Going forward, my thoughts and prayers are with Dave and Holly Petraeus, who has done so much to help military families through her own work."

By acknowledging an extramarital affair, Petraeus, was confronting a sensitive issue for a spy chief. Intelligence agencies are often concerned about the possibility that agents who engage in such behavior could be blackmailed for information.

Petraeus was credited for helping to develop and put in place the "surge" in troops in Iraq that helped wind down the war in that country. In Afghanistan, Petraeus led the push for a similar increase in troops ordered by Obama, but he was unable to replicate the success he had in the Iraq conflict. Last year, Obama persuaded Petraeus to leave the Army after 37 years to lead the CIA, succeeding Leon Panetta, who moved to the Defense Department.

In his statement Friday, Obama said that Michael Morell, the deputy director of the CIA, would take over once again as acting director. Morell served in that position briefly after Panetta left the agency last year.

Among the candidates who might replace Petraeus permanently is John Brennan, the president's adviser for homeland security and counterterrorism. Another possibility is Michael Vickers, the top Pentagon intelligence policy official and a former CIA officer who is highly regarded by the White House.